There’s nothing better than juice straight from your home juicer instead of a carton.

When you make juice yourself, what you’re getting is way fresher than store-bought—especially now, when you have enough time at home to put your juicer to good use.

Homemade juice not only tastes better but preserves all the nutritional goodness you can only find in fresh ingredients. Compared with the packaged stuff, fresh juice contains more fiber as well as more vitamins, minerals and other crucial nutrients, such as enzymes and flavonoids.

And because you’re the one buying the ingredients, the mix of fruits and vegetables you turn into juice is limited only by your imagination.

For best nutrition and flavor, you should consume fresh juice, if not immediately, then “within a 24-hour period from the time of pressing,” says Julie Morris, author of Superfruit Juices (Sterling), who adds that juice should be refrigerated until use, preferably in a sealed glass container.

Can’t drink it all down in a day? Morris suggests making juice ice cubes (use a covered tray) or creating frozen treats such as popsicles.

She says you can also find culinary uses for your leftover juice. Fruit juices are delicious in oatmeal or as a natural sweetener in baked recipes, while green juices make a great addition to smoothies, shakes “and even cocktails.”